After evening meal, we gather at roof and sit to talk, late at night while seeping green tea. For a talkative person like me, it is my most favorite part of the day (24 hours). I take it as a participative stage shows as most of the talks have performances in them…. I encourage it as it helps develop the key communicative skills that are needed in professional life…. Last night, it was almost 12:00 pm and we were busy in seeping green tea and regular talks that one pointed to moon and asked, “Isn’t it full moon night?”…. “It is…” another replied… “but the moon is not full”….”Oh, it is moon eclipse …” and then the moon started thinning gradually… the talks shifted about moon eclipse… younger ones were inquiring about how to perform special prayers (Namaz Ayat; prayers offered during moon-eclipse, sun-eclipse, storms and earthquakes…)… An elder commented, “This is a bad omen…something tragic is waiting…”… Younger ones disagreed and were explaining that earth comes between moon and sun while revolving and the shade of earth makes moon look dark… and as a proof asked to wait and see the gradual darkening of moon and then gradual growing full moon…… We were waiting for gradual thinning and darkening of moon that intense firing started… People were firing in air to inform other people of moon-eclipse… some of the firing was from very close range…. What one can say? Firing in the air in the middle of night to inform people about moon-eclipse? This is really a savage culture… we came down as it wasn’t safe to sit on roof while some people are firing in the air….
Next day at noon, the very sad news came in,”3 times Olympian boxer and Presidential award holder (Sitara-e-Imtiaz) Syed Ibrar Hussain was target killed by terrorist”…. Last night it was a moon-eclipse and today it was a sun-eclipse (Sun is a star…. Ibrar Hussain was a real star and his killing was more than a sun-eclipse as sun-eclipse is a temporary event but targeted killings of stars will leave their dark shades for very long time… http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?240471 )….
Last night the younger ones arguing that taking moon-eclipse as a bad omen is just a superstition with no scientific basis but yesterday, I wish they were right…. This might be a coincident…. But I wish it were just a superstition rather than a tragic coincidence….
The legend says that it was the sight of an old, disfigured and diseased person that changed the perspective of Prince Siddhartha... This sight struck him so hard that he left Princely life for jungles to seek nirvana (In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering (or dukkha)…….
All living beings including human is destined to old age and death… there is no escape… however killings especially target killings are not what human destined for…. It is what only oppressed people are destined for….
If Prince Siddhartha (Buddha… It is the shame that I can’t bring any personality from the country and is forced to exemplify Prince Siddhartha) was living in our period and he was witnessing the sufferings of people who are living under terror… he would not go to jungles to seek nirvana… but he would go to fix a savage culture… A small minority of a half million population is regularly targeted in a country of 180 millions people?? A minority is targeted that have only earned pride for the whole nation? Everybody in this country is acknowledging their services to the nation and yet is silent on their target killings…. My conclusion is …….this silence is the result of fear from progress and fear from light…. And it is deeply embedded in a dark culture…. They try hard to cover the moon and stars with eclipses…..
…………………………To our fallen stars……………………………………
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